The intensity of their connection and attraction, and the home they feel when together, was just not there for me. For what it’s worth, Kirke and Sasha Lane are incredible in the series, and their energy and nuance stand in stark contrast to the protagonists, who barely share a full sentence before falling in love. The awkward, bad-at-parties vibe is there for sure, especially with Frances’ and Nick’s partners as their vivacious foil characters. Yet, on screen, viewers get none of that. But together, in their emails and, eventually, their IRL romance, the two find their voices and grow into confident and vulnerable lovers.

The two are kind of awkward intellectuals with deeply personal creative pursuits-acting and slam poetry (ugh)-who aren’t that fun at parties.

In the novel, Frances, the Rooney character, is consumed by her relationship with Nick, an older, married man and successful, hot actor. (Rooney’s latest, Beautiful World, Where Are You, does the email thing again, but much more beautifully and purposely than in her debut, though both are worth reading.) I read the novel right before COVID-19 reached the US, around February 2020, and my only standout memory was of the main characters exchanging way more emails than I ever have in my life-a detail the show largely leaves out, to its demise.

Sally rooney won’t rest until every mousy brunette with sharp clavicles on earth is famous Literary twitter largely agreed with her: “‘Conversations With Friends’ follows the ‘Normal People’ pattern so closely that it often feels more like a faded impression rather than its own series,” writes Caroline Framke in Variety. The series tracks the same ground as Normal People-waifish brunette protagonists-doubling-as-Rooney-analogues fall for pretty men, lots of graphic sex and socialist monologues without sacrificing the romcom tropey big houses and expensive vacations-but with less success. Girls’ Jemima Kirke, obviously, plays the cool wife. Is it even really a pandemic spring without a Sally Rooney romance to keep you company? After the mega success of Normal People in 2020, Hulu released Conversations with Friends, an adaptation of Rooney’s debut about two college students and former lovers who become entangled in a married couple’s relationship.

Conversations with friends book review